House On Mango St Essay, Research Paper

The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street is a very interesting book about a young Latino girl and her daily life. It is a look through a child?s eyes of the world around her. The story is written in short chapters, explaining different aspects of life from a child?s point of view. The story confronts poverty, physical abuse, discrimination and other issues that we?d never want our children to deal with. The House on Mango Street is truly a worthwhile book for children to read. It helps the reader understand what it?s like growing up in a rundown and harsh neighborhood, such as Mango Street.

The House on Mango Street is the story about the life of Esperanza Cordero. She tells, in her own words, what the neighborhood is like around her and talks about the people she is close to. The first people she talks about are her family. You meet her family by the description of their hair. You learn a little about each family member by her description. For example, her mother?s hair smells like bread and makes her feel safe. The main characters you learn about are the two sisters, Lucy and Rachel. Lucy and Rachel ask Esperanza to chip in to buy a bike. The girls become friends and after meeting them, most of Esperanza?s experiences in the neighborhood are with the two sisters. Then, you meet characters with a smaller influence, such as Marin, Louie, Darius, and many more.

The story starts out with the narrator, Esperanza Cordero, talking about her house and how she got there. Esperanza explains that she hasn?t always lived on Mango Street. She lived in many apartments before getting her house, although she is not happy with her house. It wasn?t what she imagined at all. Her parents say the house is only temporary, but Esperanza knows the truth. She knows she will be there a long time and she doesn?t want to be there. Esperanza feels out of place in her neighborhood and this theme continues throughout the book. She is ashamed of where she lives, but she?ll ride it out until she is old enough to get out. It is very obvious in the end of the book when Alicia tells Esperanza that the house of Mango Street is always her house. ?No this isn?t my house,? Esperanza says and shake my head as if shaking could undo the year I?ve lived here. ?I don?t belong. I don?t ever want to come from here.? At the end of the story, you hear about the house of her dreams and her promise to get out of Mango Street for good.

The story deals a lot with growing up. In the beginning of the story, Esperanza really wants friends. It seems like one of the most important things in her life. She meets Lucy and Rachel and they become quick friends. They later meet an older girl, Marin, who becomes their friend. Marin is older so she has an influence on the girls. Marin sits in front of the house every night. Marin tells Esperanza that she does this because girls need to be seen by the boys. Esperanza doesn?t understand this because she is too young to really know what Marin is talking about. Later on in the story, Lucy, Rachel, and Esperanza all try on old high heel shoes. They wanted so much to look grown up. Rachel walks down the street with the high heels on and a drunken man comments on how pretty she looks. She offers her a dollar to kiss him. The girls are very scared and run home. The girls then realize what it?s like to be grown up and what they will have to deal with as young women. When Esperanza gets older, she gets a job and pulls her own weight. You can tell she is really growing up when she comforts her father when his father dies. In the end, she doesn?t associate with her old friends. Friends are not the most important things in her life anymore. She dreams of a house that she can call her own and the time that she can be an independent woman.

One of the most interesting people in the book was Sally. Sally was a child that was physically abused by her father. Her father believed that her beauty would get her into trouble. Her father was extremely religious. When Sally came to school, she wore make up, but when she walked home, she rubbed it all off and stared at her shoes. She refused to look up. The boys say bad things about Sally. It?s hard for me to believe that such a young child could gain such a bad reputation. Esperanza doesn?t believe the rumors though. When talking about her father she says, ?He never hits me hard.? I think it?s remarkable that they put this kind of content in a children?s book. It?s a hard subject for children to deal with, but it also makes them aware of the world around them. Children need to know that everyone in the world are not treated like they are. Some aren?t so fortunate.

The chapter, A Smart Cookie is interesting to me. In this chapter, Esperanza?s mother talks about how she could be have been something. Esperanza?s mother has so many talents, but she never had the chance to use them. She quit school while she was still young. She quit school because she didn?t have the right clothes, therefore she didn?t feel that she fit in. She was smart thought. Due to this, Esperanza?s mother wants Esperanza to get a good education and become something. I think this is valid information for all children to hear. If children can hear personal stories, even in a narrative story, they will hopefully gain the knowledge that going to school is very important. All children should know that knowledge takes you everywhere you ever wanted to go and without education, you won?t be able to go anywhere.

From The House on Mango Street, I would like to share the great way the author showed what growing up is like. Since the story was written with the narrator as a child, the whole world was seen with a child?s eyes. Through a child?s eyes, you see details and wonder in whatever you see. You see pictures in clouds, you think of houses as Mexico, and you talk about your family in regards to the type of hair they have. Through a child?s eyes, you see situations that are horrible. These situations don?t even faze the child because the physical abuse, discrimination, and poverty seem so normal to her. The author does a great job of showing what it is like for an innocent child to grown up in such a harsh neighborhood.

I would want others to read this book because I feel it is important to see things through another person?s eyes. It is important for people to know what other cultures are experiencing. It is important for everyone to see life in a different perspective. It is also a very interesting book. The issues in this book are very hard to deal with, but they are also very real. It will make both adults and children more aware of what is going on in the world. The book will make people more aware what goes on when we are not paying attention. There are also very humorous parts of the book. Overall, it is excellent reading material. Reading The House on Mango Street was both fun and educational.

The House on Mango Street helps people understand the family life of a different culture by writing about the child?s daily life. The story is written about Esperanza going to school, playing, working and every other aspect of life. Following Esperanza shows the reader what is like to be a young Hispanic woman growing up in a rough neighborhood. The reader sees how people treat her and how she is treated. The reader sees where she goes to play and whom she interacts with. The reader sees whom she makes friends with and whom she knows to stay away from. The reader learns about the child?s family life and how she interacts with each member of her family. The reader sees everything a young Hispanic child has to go through and how she deals with it. You learn everything you can know about the child in her community.

In the future, I think I would read books like The House on Mango Street a little different. First, I would try to get some background information on the culture of the people in the book. For example, for this book I?d look up Mexican and Puerto Rican history or culture on the Internet or in a reference book. I would also take more time to reflect on each chapter. In this story, the chapters were very short. I just breezed through all of them without a second thought. Next time, I would definitely try to focus on the cultural aspects, rather than reading the story for the narrative. Reading for the little differences in the culture makes it much more interesting.

I think the main thing students need to get out of The House on Mango Street is the different attitudes and outlooks of different cultures. Before teaching this book, I would have my students keep a journal for a week about their daily life. I?d tell them to make sure to include little customs that their families do, such as saying grace or drinking wine at the table at dinnertime. Then, in class I?d put them children into groups and have them compare and contrast their entries. In the comparisons and contrasts, I?d have them include the things they do that are related to their culture. Then, I?d have the children read the story. After they were done with the story, I?d have the class paint a mural of Esperanza?s neighborhood. Each child would then pick a character, draw a picture of them, and write a short description of the person under the picture. Then, when the mural and character drawings were finished, I would place the pictures of the characters on the mural of Mango Street. I would put each picture near the spot on the mural where the character lived. I think this would be a fun project for the class that will show to me that they know the material in the book.

In conclusion, The House on Mango Street is both an educational and fun book to read. It helps the reader see into a different culture and perspective, while adding humor to keep the reader entertained. The story confronts disturbing issues, but through the eyes of an innocent child. Overall, this book is about growing up. This book does a great job of making the reader see what it?s like to grow up in a place like Mango Street. The House on Mango Street really makes the reader aware of the world around them and that their experience growing up was not like everyone else?s.